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Expert panel appointed for Reserve Bank Act Review

The members of the Independent Expert Advisory Panel for Phase 1 of the Review of the Reserve Bank of New Zealand Act 1989 bring considerable knowledge and expertise to the table, Finance Minister Grant Robertson says.

Suzanne Snively ONZM has been appointed Chair of the Panel and is joined by members Dr Malcolm Edey and Dr Girol Karacaoglu.

“This is a high-calibre Panel with extensive experience in banking, finance, economics, policy development and governance. Their input will be invaluable for the Reserve Bank Act Review,” Grant Robertson says.

“As announced on 7 November, the Act is being reviewed to ensure our monetary policy framework still provides the most efficient and effective model for New Zealand.”

The Review is being undertaken in two phases. Phase 1 (led by the Treasury with technical advice from the Reserve Bank) will recommend changes to the Act to provide for requiring monetary policy decision-makers to give due consideration to maximising employment alongside the Bank’s price stability framework. It will also provide for a committee decision-making model for monetary policy decisions, and consider whether changes are required to the role of the Reserve Bank Board as a consequence of the alterations to the decision-making model.

The Independent Expert Advisory Panel will provide input and support for the Review. It will also be expected to test Treasury’s findings. The Panel will produce its own report of its views on the Treasury’s conclusions and recommendations to the Minister of Finance on Phase 1 of the Review.

The Reserve Bank and the Treasury will jointly develop a list of areas for Phase 2 of the Review where further investigations of the Bank’s activities may be desirable. The Panel will assist in the development of this list. Phase 2 will also incorporate the review of the macro-prudential framework that was already scheduled for 2018.

The first meeting between the Panel and officials is planned for later this month, with further meetings in early 2018. The membership of the Panel for taking forward policy work for Phase 2, as well as their terms of engagement, will be determined once the list of Phase 2 issues has been scoped.

Suzanne Snively, a former Director of the Reserve Bank of New Zealand, is an independent economic strategist, professional director and risk management advisor, with wide public sector experience as well as commercial experience in industry growth, business performance and risk opportunity management. Suzanne is currently Chair of Transparency International New Zealand, a director of a number of boards including the Health Research Council, the Army Leadership Board and Te Pou Matakana. She is an external member of SUPERU's audit and risk committee and a Patron of Vincents Art Workshop. Prior to this she was a Partner at PricewaterhouseCoopers for 15 years.

Dr Malcolm Edey

Dr Malcolm Edey is a consulting economist and academic, lecturing in economic policy, banking and finance at the University of Sydney. Before retiring in 2016 he was the Assistant Governor (Financial System) of the Reserve Bank of Australia, and Assistant Governor (Economic) prior to that. He held a number of other senior positions in the Economic and Financial Markets groups during his 40 year career at the Reserve Bank of Australia. Malcolm spent three years at the OECD in Paris where he worked as a senior economist, responsible for research on monetary and financial policies of the OECD member countries, including discussion papers on international monetary and financial issues for the main economic committees of the OECD. In December 2010, he was elected Chair of the OECD Committee on Financial Markets, completing his term in early 2015. Malcolm also served as a member of the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision between 2009 and 2016.

Dr Girol Karacaoglu

Dr Girol Karacaoglu is the Head of the School of Government at Victoria University of Wellington with a focus on research in public policy, specifically an integrated approach to economic, environmental and social policies towards improving intergenerational wellbeing. In 2012 he left the private sector to take up the position of Deputy Secretary, Macroeconomics, International and Economic Research, and Chief Economist at the Treasury. Prior to this Girol was the Chief Executive of The Co-operative Bank for nine years. His previous roles include various senior positions in banks, funds management companies, and as a Senior Lecturer in Economics at Victoria University of Wellington. Girol also spent some time at the Reserve Bank of New Zealand as a Senior Research Adviser.